Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Most effective 22LR for deer

And to point...I have seen guys with 300 mags make [bleep] hits on deer, wound them grievously and never recover them.
I am betting no one questioned them when they did it.
To say, if I make a poor shot does it matter what I used? A jaw hit with a 7mm mag is a wounded and quit possibly unrecoverable kill.
I'm ONLY taking a perfect head shot. I can hunt from October till January and have a very liberal bag limit. And a already half full freezer. I'm not pressed to make shots due to haste and nerves or rush shots because I need the meat.

60 gr aguila SSS if I was shooting suppressed, or some type of high velocity solid if not. I would prefer my .22 magnum but if all I could use was my 10/22 then it would be the Aguila with a lane suppressor and fast twist barrel. only take shots at the brainstem from the side or back ideally side and tucked in close to the base of the ear. I wouldn't do a facing headshot if I could avoid it, between the eyes if I'm in an elevated position such as a deck or treestand would be doable. I've heard the lung shots work and frequently well, but I've never tried one.

My buddies and I killed a bunch of deer with .22's when we were teenagers. Nothing to it if you can shoot. I'd stay away from the light, hyper velocity HP's like stingers/yellow jackets as they don't penetrate for shyt.

We have a butcher shop and switched from 22 to 22 mag for sows and bulls. Best bullets I've used are the A22 s. That being said I've seen good results from 17 hmr vmax, but they're pretty loud in the shop. 22 and 22 mag solids out do hp s. Barry

I've shot a few deer with suppressed .22 Magnums while doing urban herd reduction work and they all died, but not all instantly even with short range standing head shots. Based on that experience, I wouldn't feel comfortable shooting deer with any currently offered rimfire cartridge/bullet combination unless it was a survival situation and then anything goes.

That said, since you're going to be shooting antlerless deer in a place with lots of deer and a liberal bag limit, if you happen to shoot one and can't recover it, it isn't the end of the world as no protein goes to waste on the forest floor.

CCI Mini mag hp in the lungs if not suppressed. CCI 0074 if suppressed in lungs.

For head only, CCI Mini Mag solids.

Its all in shot placement, patience like after any shot, and ability to trail if need be.

22s will kill deer just fine. Its almost all I use for hogs up to about 250 for the last few years. In fact have been shooting them in the ear with the suppressed HPs even at times.

You do have to pick and choose/pass shots. Obviously.

When it is a situation that HAS to be taken, then I step up, but more than most. Generally to some kind of 300 mag at a minimum with a good stout bullet. Its pretty rare that I feel the need to HAVE to shoot on any given day, regardless size of animal either...

Well, at least you won't be accused of "Over bulleting your deer rifle".

Ok. But you're being an idiot, which is nothing new for you. You can marry a man in SC too, I'm guessing that is next?

Yes, a jaw shot is a jaw shot with a 7mm, but should the opportunity to send one up the cheerio arrives after you f*cked up said deer, I'd count on a 150gr TSX being able to finish the deed over a 22LR Stinger.

That you can't grasp the difference, surprises me not.

Again, I'm all about using shiet that works when everything is wrong, not when everything is 'perfect', which clearly you are not.

Why post when you haven't read the GD thread?




Dave

I guess the "BB Gun for Deer" is the next thread.

PM Digital Dan. I think he has whacked a bunch of wild hogs with .22 shorts. If I remember, he always used solids and shot placement was as you described.

I'd use 40 grain solids over hp's, if it was me, and head shots were the only one I'd be taking. Whatever high-velocity 40 is giving me the best accuracy. I watched a deer drop dead to 3 Mini-Mags in the back of the head from a Ruger Mark II at about 80 yds. Bam Bam Bam while she was walking straight away. Hard to say whether the first two did any good, but the last definitely connected, and she died instantly.

It sounds like you answered your own question.

Why does that matter? Especially if he's shooting them in the head.

May be legal there, but here even a spent .22lr case will get me in trouble with the law. Poachers have used .22lr for many years due to the much quieter report.
I would love t o hunt with my dad's. Savage 24 in .22/.410 for deer, rabbits, pheasant, squirrels, but during deer-gun, .22 ammo can not even be present. (In ohio)

If I were determined to do it, I'd try Stingers. I considered doing it when I lived in NC albeit with a .22 WMR. I didn't get around to hunting that property though and I'll always pick a .30 over a .22 if there's no good reason not to.

A bad marksman, has nothing to do with the capability of the caliber.

It's being done with PCP guns in .30, .357, and .45. One guy on here has killed a bunch of Texas hogs with his .357. Seems to be okay for good shots that wait for the right opportunity and have a place to hunt where the game's not constantly on the jump, but not a good choice in my mind for general hunting. In any event, airguns aren't legal for big game anywhere I hunt.

Huh, I didn't have any problem dropping deer instantly with head shots from my .22 mag. using Winchester 40 gr. JHP. What load were you using ?

My dad has killed a bunch with a 22LR just to survive growing up because it was all they had. You don't have to head shoot them. You just have to wait for a good clean,close lung shot.